Draw Close to God, Draw Closer to Him (Luke 8: 1-3)

Draw Close to God, Draw Closer to Him (Luke 8: 1-3)

 

1 이 후에 예수께서 각 성과 촌에 두루 다니시며 하나님의 나라를 반포하시며 그 복음을 전하실새 열 두 제자가 함께 하였고 1 After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him,

2 또한 악귀를 쫓아내심과 병 고침을 받은 어떤 여자들 곧 일곱 귀신이 나간 자 막달라인이라 하는 마리아와 2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out;

3 또 헤롯의 청지기 구사의 아내 요안나와 또 수산나와 다른 여러 여자가 함께 하여 자기들의 소유로 저희를 섬기더라 3 Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

 

In the New Testament, we see cases of Jesus raising people from the dead, such as Jairo’s daughter and a 12-year-old boy. But what happened to these children afterwards? How did their lives turn out?

 

What about the countless people Jesus healed? Or Lazarus, a man Jesus raised up 3 days after he died? How did they live their lives after they were touched by the grace of Jesus? Did they live happily every after? Or did they catch a different, more deadly, disease?

 

But why are we so curious? We want to know what happened to them because knowing their fate will give us comfort and assurance about how we should live our lives. They were touched by Jesus so their lives must have turned out different from those who never received his grace. Right? Yet, unfortunately, the Bible never tells us how these people ended up.

 

Thankfully, the person we will take a closer look at today gives us some idea of what happens to someone and how their lives change after being healed by Jesus. Today I will be speaking with you about Mary Magdalene.

 

Mary Magdalene is a woman who was also mentioned in the well-known mystery novel, “The Da Vinci Code”. In the novel, Mary Magdalene is said to have been married to Jesus and even had his children. This story did not originate from the novel and had in fact been around for a while.

 

Being such a scandalous and stimulatingly curious account, this story has been told and retold in various forms over the ages, from plays to fictional novels. But we must understand the true image Mary Magdalene, not the false image portrayed to us by novels exploiting shock-factor like “The Da Vinci Code”.

 

Mary Magdalene was a woman who actually existed. Luke 8:1-3 says, “1 After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; 3 Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.”

 

These verses tell us two truths about Mary Magdalene:

First is that Jesus freed her from the possession of seven demons. Through Jesus’ power she regained normalcy in her life.

Second, we are told what she did after she was healed: She followed Jesus in spreading the Gospel. 

 

Take another look at chapter 8. Verse 1-3 illustrates Jesus traveling to spread the Gospel and it tells us exactly who, what, when and where.

Where? “Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another”

When? After the events of chapter 7, in other words, after Jesus was anointed by a sinful woman (The chapter starts with “After this…”)

What? He was “proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God”

With who? “The Twelve… 2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases”

 

We are told that the women traveling with Jesus were “women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases.” We are also told their names are Mary (called Magalene), Joanna the wife of King Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, along with others.

 

Then what did these women actually do while following Jesus and his disciples? Mark 15:40-41 gives us the answer: “40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.”

 

These women are described to have “followed” Jesus, not just physically, but spiritually. They did not merely follow Jesus and the disciples around tending to household chores and cooking meals; these women actively took part in fellowship and ministry as Jesus’ disciples, and Mary Magdalene was one of them.

 

After Mary was freed from demons by the grace of Jesus Christ, she returned to her normal self and dedicated her time to following Jesus as his disciple. Of course she was not considered one of Jesus 12 male apostles, but she was still an important female disciple.

 

Now, take a look at where her name is mentioned: In both Luke and Mark her name is written first, clearly and distinctly, visibly identifying her as Mary Magdalene and not some other Mary.

 

“Magdalene” is the name of a regions and refers to where Mary came from. Since “Mary” was such a common name, Jesus’ own mother was named “Mary”, they added where they were from to avoid confusion.

 

In the Bible we can easily know which Mary we are reading about because Mary Magdalene is always clearly indicated as such. The fact that Mary Magdalene’s name is mentioned first emphasizes just how important her role was. Yet despite these truths being blatantly apparent in the Bible, there have been severe misconceptions about Mary Magdalene.

 

I will discuss the misunderstandings of Mary Magdalene in detail during this Wednesday’s evening service, but we will go over a few main points today. Because there are so many Marys mentioned the Bible and it is said she was possessed by seven demons, Mary Magdalene has gained unwarranted notoriety.

 

 

In 591 AD Pope Gregory I assumed and stated that many of the Marys mentioned in the Bible were one person, Mary Magdalene. Hence, Mary Magdalene became known as a woman with no morals, a woman of sin, and a prostitute. Thankfully, Bible scholars today recognize they were different Marys, and the Vatican corrected their mistake in 1969.

 

Unfortunately, many pastors still mistake Mary Magdalene and the other Marys in the Bible and preach that Mary Magdalene was a sinner or even a prostitute.

 

However, unlike others in the Bible, we know what happened to Mary Magdalene after she was cured. We get a rare chance to see how she changed after being touched by Jesus’ grace.

 

The next time we see Mary Magdalene is when Jesus dies crucified on the cross. All four Gospels have record of this incident:

 

Matthew 27:55-61 – “55 Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene…”

 

Mark 15:40-42 – “40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.”

 

Luke 23:49 – “49 But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.”

 

John 19:25-27 – “25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.”

 

In all four of the Book of Gospels, we are told that Mary Magdalene was present during Jesus’ final moments. Thus, anyone who believes in the Bible know it is ridiculous to think that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married.

 

If someone ever mentions Mary Magdalene and Jesus in reference to “The Da Vinci Code”, be it the book or movie, tell them about what the Bible says.

 

We just read from the four Gospels, but there are a few things that comes into question.  

 

First, is the question of who was with Jesus when he died? Which of his disciples were there? In Matthew, there is no mention of Jesus’ Apostles; only the women watching from afar are cited. The same goes for the Gospel of Mark.

 

In Luke, things are worded slightly differently. It says that “all who knew [Jesus]” were there, not to be confused to mean “all who Jesus knew”. Since the verse is continues to state “including the women,” we can assume that the male disciples were present as well.

 

But things change in the Gospel of John.

 

John 19:25-27 – “25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.”

 

The “disciple whom he loved” refers to John, himself. According to the Gospel of John, the only male disciple by Jesus’ side at the time of his death was John.

 

We can also deduce that John and the women were standing fairly close to the cross, rather than watching from afar, since Jesus has a conversation with his mother, Mary. Knowing that Jesus had been hanging and bleeding for hours, in excruciating pain, and mere breaths away from death; his voice could not have been heard unless they were right next to him.

 

Mary Magdalene was at such a scene, a scene where Jesus was drawing his last breath and none of the other Apostles except for John was present. She did not vow to follow Jesus to the end like the other Apostles, yet there she was standing beside him in his final moments.

 

This is what true faith is. It is not a boastful and proud faith, but rather a silent one where you lay down everything you have and persevere unwavering through all hardships.

 

This is the kind of faith Mary Magdalene is showing us. How many people do you know who claim to be of great faith, yet when the time comes to take up their cross they turn away and run away as if they never believed?

 

The easiest way to examine one’s faith is to see how one acts and reacts in trialing situations. If one proclaims to have strong faith, yet acts like every other worldly person, then they never had true faith. Mary Magdalene’s faith is one that we should follow.

 

The second thing that comes into question, as mentioned briefly before, is that Matthew, Mark, and Luke all say that the women were watching from a distance. Yet, in John we are told they were right beside the cross, close enough to hear Jesus’ last words.

 

Why the discrepancy? To answer this question, we need to understand the circumstances under which the Gospel of John was written. The Gospel of John was written after Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written, which could explain why John includes many details and stories absent from the other three Gospels.

 

We can presume John read the three preceding Gospels and added details that were omitted such as the story of Jesus turning water into wine and the resurrection of Lazarus.

 

By the time John wrote the Gospel of John, all of the other disciples had been martyred. He was the only Apostle left, and so he wrote the Gospel of John reminiscing about his discipleship with Jesus.

 

He wrote each story from the heart, remembering in detail the sound and words coming of Jesus’ mouth. John remembered Jesus’ last moments, where Jesus asked John to take care of his mother Mary as his own. John was there beneath the cross with Jesus just as he wrote; that is why he knows the exchange that took place between Mary and Jesus. The other disciples were elsewhere, which is why their accounts are far vaguer and different; they were not there, so they did not know.

 

I imagine the entire scene took place as so:

First, some of the disciples and the women were gathered together and watching from afar, as Matthew, Mark, and Luke describe. They watched for a while helplessly from a distance, but as time passed they saw their efforts were futile and one by one the disciples left, until only John, Mary, Mary Magdalene, and a few other women remained.

 

These women and John stayed, but their sadness grew stronger until Mary found it unbearable and starts walking toward her dying son. At first no one moves, but soon Mary Magdalene and the other women follow suit.

 

Thus, it is recorded by the other disciples that the women watched from afar.

John saw these events play out from a different perspective, so he wrote that he, Mary, Mary Magdalene, and other women were beside the cross when Jesus died.

 

Of course this is just my interpretation of what is written in an attempt to explain why there would be different accounts of one event.

 

The important thing we must look at here is Mary Magdalene, who at first stand afar but then walks nearer and nearer to the cross. Look at it as a spiritual metaphor for drawing nearer to the cross.

 

We often saw that we “take up the cross,” to mean we sacrifice ourselves as Jesus did. But this is much easier said than done. To take up the cross, we must first approach the cross on which Jesus shed his blood.

 

You cannot take up the cross if you are standing far away from it. Mary Magdalene, John, and the other women going to stand right next to the cross means that they put their lives on the line and cast themselves away.

 

Our faith needs to reach the level where we deny ourselves and look only to God; where we no longer depend on our strength but depend on the Lord. only when we cast ourselves aside can we draw closer to the cross and take it up.

 

Mary Magdalene gave herself up and dedicated her life to Jesus’s work, which is why she was able to stand beside the cross when Jesus died. She led a life where she was worthy to carry the cross.

 

But growing closer to the cross does not mean there will only be hardships waiting for us. only when we stand next to the cross can we hear Jesus’ voice. Because Mary Magdalene chose to draw close to the cross, she was able to hear Jesus’ message, both at his death and at his resurrection.

 

Where else does Mary Magdalene appear? We see her again at Jesus’ tomb. According to John 20, Mary Magdalene arrives at Jesus’ tomb the day after the Sabbath before the sun has risen. When she gets there she finds the tomb empty, so she goes to tell the other disciples.

 

Hearing the news, Peter and some other disciples arrive to the scene and sure enough they discover the empty tomb.  Unable to find Jesus’ body, they turn back, leaving Mary Magdalene to cry by Jesus’ tomb. It is while she is crying when Jesus comes to Mary Magdalene and tells her to spread His Word. Mary Magdalene was the first person to see Jesus after he was resurrected.

 

So, now that we have taken a look at Mary Magdalene’s life, we can see there are four parts to her life of faith.

 

First is the site of grace. Mary Magdalene is first mentioned at a site of grace when she is freed from the possession of seven demons. She was present where healing and forgiveness took place that was where she first met Jesus. We, too, must bring ourselves to such a place where we meet Jesus, receive his grace, and are changed.

 

Just as the demons were driven from Mary Magdalene, so should the worldly sins and desires in our hearts. To do this we need to meet Jesus, face-to-face. Without such an experience, our faith is merely for looks.

 

Second is the site of discipleship. Here, we are at the step of following Jesus daily, hearing and learning from him, yearning to become more like him.

 

Third is the site of the cross. At this point, we are bringing ourselves closer to the cross and preparing to take up the cross. It is here where we sacrifice ourselves and die. It is here where we experience Jesus’ pain and receive the strength to overcome any suffering.

 

Mary Magdalene stayed by Jesus’ side when many others had left. We too must press forth and then remain at the cross, even if all others turn back. only when we keep our place at the cross can we be with Jesus at the final site of resurrection and glory.

 

 

Today we took a detailed look into Mary Magdalene’s life and the steps of faith her life illustrates. So, at what site is your faith currently at? Are you at the site of grace, where you personally experience Jesus Christ? Are you at the site of discipleship, where you live each day with God’s Word in your heart? Where do you stand? Are standing at a distance from the cross? Or are you standing right next to it?

 

Mary Magdalene started life not knowing Jesus, but then she met him and experienced his grace. Then she lived each day with him, learning and living as he. Then she stood beside the cross, casting herself aside. Finally, she met the Resurrected Jesus. Like Mary Magdalene, may we dedicate our life of faith to drawing ourselves closer and closer to God.

by pastor Bahng